Benjamin Robbins Curtis
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Robbins Curtis (November 4, 1809 – September 15, 1874) was an American
attorney
and United States Supreme Court
Justice.
Curtis was the first and only Whig
justice of the Supreme Court. He was also the first Supreme Court justice to have a formal legal degree and is the only justice to have resigned from the court over a matter of principle. He successfully acted as chief counsel for President Andrew Johnson during the first presidential impeachment trial
.
, the son of Lois Ribbins and Benjamin Curtis, the captain of a merchant vessel
. Young Curtis attended common school in Newton
and beginning in 1825 Harvard College
, where he won an essay writing contest in his junior year. He graduated in 1829, a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He subsequently graduated from Harvard Law School
in 1831 and was admitted to the bar the following year.
In 1834, he moved to Boston where he joined the law firm of Charles P Curtis Esquire.
In 1836, Curtis participated in the Massachusetts "freedom suit" of Commonwealth v. Aves on behalf of the defendant. When New Orleans resident Mary Slater went to Boston to visit her father, Thomas Aves, she brought with her a young slave girl about six years of age, named Med. While in Boston, Slater fell ill and asked her father to take care of Med until she (Slater) recovered. The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society
and others sought a writ of habeas corpus
against Aves, contending that Med became free by virtue of her mistress' having brought her voluntarily into Massachusetts. Aves responded to the writ, answering that Med was his daughter's slave, and that he was holding Med as his daughter's agent. Curtis was one of the attorneys who argued the case on behalf of Aves.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, through its Chief Justice, Lemuel Shaw
, ruled that Med was free, and made her a ward of the court. The Massachusetts decision was considered revolutionary at the time. While previous decisions ruled that slaves voluntarily brought into a free state, and who resided there many years, became free, Aves was the first decision which held that a slave voluntarily brought into a free state became free from the first moment of arrival. The decision in this freedom suit engendered controversy and helped to alienate the South. It was in contrast to the Dred Scott
decision, in which Curtis participated as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
Curtis became a Harvard Fellow in February 1846. In 1849, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives
. Appointed chairman of a committee to reform state judicial procedures, they presented the Massachusetts Practice Act of 1851. "It was considered a model of judicial reform and was approved by the legislature without amendment."
At the time, Curtis was viewed as a rival to Rufus Choate
, and was thought to be the preeminent leader of the New England
bar. He came from a politically connected family, and had studied under Joseph Story
and John Hooker Ashmun at Harvard Law School. His legal arguments were thought to be well-reasoned and persuasive. He was a Whig
and in tune with their politics, and Whigs were in power. As a potential young appointee, he was thought to be the seed of a long and productive judicial career. He was appointed by the president, approved by the Senate, elevated to the bench, but was gone in six years.
to the Supreme Court on September 22, 1851 by President Millard Fillmore
, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Levi Woodbury
. Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster
persuaded Fillmore to nominate Curtis to the Supreme Court, and was his primary sponsor. Formally nominated on December 11, 1851, Curtis was confirmed by the United States Senate
on December 20, 1851, and received his commission the same day. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1854.
He was the first Supreme Court Justice to have earned a law degree from a law school — his predecessors had either "read law" (a form of apprenticeship
in a practicing firm) or had attended a law school without receiving a degree.
His opinion in Cooley v. Board of Wardens
53 U.S. 299 (1852) held that the Commerce Power extends to laws related to pilotage
. States laws related to commerce powers can be valid so long as Congress is silent on the matter. This resolved a historic controversy over federal interstate commerce powers. To this day, it is an important precedent for resolving disputes. The court interpreted Art. I, section 8, clause 3 of the Constitution, the Commerce Clause. The issue was whether states could regulate aspects of commerce or whether Congress retained exclusive jurisdiction to regulate commerce. Curtis concluded that the federal government enjoyed exclusive power to regulate commerce only when the thing regulated required national uniformity. Otherwise, states were permitted to regulate commerce.
Curtis was notable as one of the two dissenters in the Dred Scott
case, where he disagreed with virtually every holding of the court, and argued against the majority's denial of the slave Scott's bid for emancipation
. See, dissenting opinion of Justice Benjamin Curtis, wherein he stated that there were African American citizens in both Southern and Northern states at the time: Therefore, they were among the "people of the United States" whom the Constitution addressed. Curtis also opined that since the majority had found that Scott lacked standing, the Court had no power to rule on the merits of his case.
Curtis resigned from the court on September 30, 1857, because of the bitter feelings engendered by the Scott case. His bitterness over the decision was said to be compounded by displeasure over his salary.
Others view the cause of his resignation as having been temperamental and financial. He did not like "riding the circuit" as Supreme Circuit Justices were then required to do. He was temperamentally estranged from the court, and was not inclined to work with others—he was not a 'team player', at least not on that team. The acrimony over the Dred Scott decision had blossomed into mutual distrust. He did not want to live on $6,500 per year, an amount much less than his earnings in private practice. Finally, the public outcry over his decision was contrary to his elitist inclinations, as he thought the public was not supposed to talk back.
Another source states, “a bitter disagreement and coercion by Roger Taney prompted Benjamin Curtis's departure from the Court in 1857."
"Although he remained on the Court for only six years, Curtis is generally considered to have been the only outstanding justice on the Taney Court in its later years, other than Taney himself." He is the only Justice of the Supreme Court to have resigned on a matter of principle.
In 1868, Curtis acted as chief counsel for President Andrew Johnson
during the impeachment trial. He read the answer to the articles of impeachment
, and it was "largely his work." His opening statement
lasted two days, and was commended for legal prescience and clarity. He successfully persuaded the Senate
that an impeachment
was a judicial act, not a political act, so that it required a full hearing of evidence. This precedent "influenced every subsequent impeachment."
After the impeachment trial, Curtis declined President Andrew Johnson
's offer of the position of U.S. Attorney General. A highly recommended candidate for the Chief Justice position upon the death of Salmon P. Chase
, Curtis did not receive the appointment. He was the unsuccessful Democratic
candidate for U. S. senator from Massachusetts in 1874. From his retirement from the bench in 1857 to his death in 1874, his aggregate professional income was about $650,000.
on September 15, 1874. He is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery
, 580 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Curtis' daughter, Annie Wroe Scollay Curtis, married (on December 9, 1880) future Columbia University
President and New York Mayor, Seth Low
. They had no children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
Justice.
Curtis was the first and only Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
justice of the Supreme Court. He was also the first Supreme Court justice to have a formal legal degree and is the only justice to have resigned from the court over a matter of principle. He successfully acted as chief counsel for President Andrew Johnson during the first presidential impeachment trial
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States, was one of the most dramatic events in the political life of the United States during Reconstruction, and the first impeachment in history of a sitting United States president....
.
Biography
Benjamin Curtis was born November 4, 1809 in Watertown, MassachusettsWatertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
, the son of Lois Ribbins and Benjamin Curtis, the captain of a merchant vessel
Merchant vessel
A merchant vessel is a ship that transports cargo or passengers. The closely related term commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire...
. Young Curtis attended common school in Newton
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
and beginning in 1825 Harvard College
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he won an essay writing contest in his junior year. He graduated in 1829, a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He subsequently graduated from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1831 and was admitted to the bar the following year.
In 1834, he moved to Boston where he joined the law firm of Charles P Curtis Esquire.
In 1836, Curtis participated in the Massachusetts "freedom suit" of Commonwealth v. Aves on behalf of the defendant. When New Orleans resident Mary Slater went to Boston to visit her father, Thomas Aves, she brought with her a young slave girl about six years of age, named Med. While in Boston, Slater fell ill and asked her father to take care of Med until she (Slater) recovered. The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society
Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society
The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist, interracial organization in Boston, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. "During its brief history .....
and others sought a writ of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
against Aves, contending that Med became free by virtue of her mistress' having brought her voluntarily into Massachusetts. Aves responded to the writ, answering that Med was his daughter's slave, and that he was holding Med as his daughter's agent. Curtis was one of the attorneys who argued the case on behalf of Aves.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, through its Chief Justice, Lemuel Shaw
Lemuel Shaw
Lemuel Shaw was an American jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court...
, ruled that Med was free, and made her a ward of the court. The Massachusetts decision was considered revolutionary at the time. While previous decisions ruled that slaves voluntarily brought into a free state, and who resided there many years, became free, Aves was the first decision which held that a slave voluntarily brought into a free state became free from the first moment of arrival. The decision in this freedom suit engendered controversy and helped to alienate the South. It was in contrast to the Dred Scott
Dred Scott
Dred Scott , was an African-American slave in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v...
decision, in which Curtis participated as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
Curtis became a Harvard Fellow in February 1846. In 1849, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
. Appointed chairman of a committee to reform state judicial procedures, they presented the Massachusetts Practice Act of 1851. "It was considered a model of judicial reform and was approved by the legislature without amendment."
At the time, Curtis was viewed as a rival to Rufus Choate
Rufus Choate
Rufus Choate , American lawyer and orator, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, a descendant of an English family which settled in Massachusetts in 1643. His first cousin, physician George Choate, was the father of George C. S. Choate and Joseph Hodges Choate...
, and was thought to be the preeminent leader of the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
bar. He came from a politically connected family, and had studied under Joseph Story
Joseph Story
Joseph Story was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1811 to 1845. He is most remembered today for his opinions in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee and The Amistad, along with his magisterial Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, first...
and John Hooker Ashmun at Harvard Law School. His legal arguments were thought to be well-reasoned and persuasive. He was a Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
and in tune with their politics, and Whigs were in power. As a potential young appointee, he was thought to be the seed of a long and productive judicial career. He was appointed by the president, approved by the Senate, elevated to the bench, but was gone in six years.
Supreme court service
Curtis received a recess appointmentRecess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...
to the Supreme Court on September 22, 1851 by President Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Levi Woodbury
Levi Woodbury
Levi Woodbury was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, a U.S. Senator, Governor of New Hampshire and cabinet member in three administrations. He was the first Justice to have attended law school....
. Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
persuaded Fillmore to nominate Curtis to the Supreme Court, and was his primary sponsor. Formally nominated on December 11, 1851, Curtis was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on December 20, 1851, and received his commission the same day. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1854.
He was the first Supreme Court Justice to have earned a law degree from a law school — his predecessors had either "read law" (a form of apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
in a practicing firm) or had attended a law school without receiving a degree.
His opinion in Cooley v. Board of Wardens
Cooley v. Board of Wardens
Cooley v. Board of Wardens, 53 U.S. 299 , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that a Pennsylvania law requiring all ships entering or leaving Philadelphia to hire a local pilot did not violate the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Those who did not comply with the law had...
53 U.S. 299 (1852) held that the Commerce Power extends to laws related to pilotage
Pilotage
Pilotage is the use of fixed visual references on the ground or sea by means of sight or radar to guide oneself to a destination, sometimes with the help of a map or nautical chart. People use pilotage for activities such as guiding vessels and aircraft, hiking and Scuba diving...
. States laws related to commerce powers can be valid so long as Congress is silent on the matter. This resolved a historic controversy over federal interstate commerce powers. To this day, it is an important precedent for resolving disputes. The court interpreted Art. I, section 8, clause 3 of the Constitution, the Commerce Clause. The issue was whether states could regulate aspects of commerce or whether Congress retained exclusive jurisdiction to regulate commerce. Curtis concluded that the federal government enjoyed exclusive power to regulate commerce only when the thing regulated required national uniformity. Otherwise, states were permitted to regulate commerce.
Curtis was notable as one of the two dissenters in the Dred Scott
Dred Scott
Dred Scott , was an African-American slave in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v...
case, where he disagreed with virtually every holding of the court, and argued against the majority's denial of the slave Scott's bid for emancipation
Emancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...
. See, dissenting opinion of Justice Benjamin Curtis, wherein he stated that there were African American citizens in both Southern and Northern states at the time: Therefore, they were among the "people of the United States" whom the Constitution addressed. Curtis also opined that since the majority had found that Scott lacked standing, the Court had no power to rule on the merits of his case.
Curtis resigned from the court on September 30, 1857, because of the bitter feelings engendered by the Scott case. His bitterness over the decision was said to be compounded by displeasure over his salary.
Others view the cause of his resignation as having been temperamental and financial. He did not like "riding the circuit" as Supreme Circuit Justices were then required to do. He was temperamentally estranged from the court, and was not inclined to work with others—he was not a 'team player', at least not on that team. The acrimony over the Dred Scott decision had blossomed into mutual distrust. He did not want to live on $6,500 per year, an amount much less than his earnings in private practice. Finally, the public outcry over his decision was contrary to his elitist inclinations, as he thought the public was not supposed to talk back.
Another source states, “a bitter disagreement and coercion by Roger Taney prompted Benjamin Curtis's departure from the Court in 1857."
"Although he remained on the Court for only six years, Curtis is generally considered to have been the only outstanding justice on the Taney Court in its later years, other than Taney himself." He is the only Justice of the Supreme Court to have resigned on a matter of principle.
Return to private practice
Upon his resignation, Curtis returned to his Boston law practice, becoming a "leading lawyer" in the nation. During the ensuing decade and a half, he argued several cases before the Supreme Court.In 1868, Curtis acted as chief counsel for President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
during the impeachment trial. He read the answer to the articles of impeachment
Articles of impeachment
The articles of impeachment are the set of charges drafted against a public official to initiate the impeachment process. The articles of impeachment do not result in the removal of the official, but instead require the enacting body to take further action, such as bringing the articles to a vote...
, and it was "largely his work." His opening statement
Opening statement
An opening statement is generally the first occasion that the trier of fact has to hear from a lawyer in a trial, aside possibly from questioning during voir dire. The opening statement is generally constructed to serve as a "road map" for the fact-finder...
lasted two days, and was commended for legal prescience and clarity. He successfully persuaded the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
that an impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
was a judicial act, not a political act, so that it required a full hearing of evidence. This precedent "influenced every subsequent impeachment."
After the impeachment trial, Curtis declined President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
's offer of the position of U.S. Attorney General. A highly recommended candidate for the Chief Justice position upon the death of Salmon P. Chase
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
, Curtis did not receive the appointment. He was the unsuccessful Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate for U. S. senator from Massachusetts in 1874. From his retirement from the bench in 1857 to his death in 1874, his aggregate professional income was about $650,000.
Death and legacy
Curtis died in Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
on September 15, 1874. He is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
, 580 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Curtis' daughter, Annie Wroe Scollay Curtis, married (on December 9, 1880) future Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
President and New York Mayor, Seth Low
Seth Low
Seth Low , born in Brooklyn, New York, was an American educator and political figure who served as mayor of Brooklyn, as President of Columbia University, as diplomatic representative of the United States, and as Mayor of New York City...
. They had no children.
Published works
- Reports of Cases in the Circuit Courts of the United States (2 vols., Boston, 1854)
- Judge Curtis's Edition of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, with notes and a digest (22 vols., Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1855).
- http://books.google.com/books?id=VWvkAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Curtis+Digest+of+the+Decisions+of+the+Supreme+Court+of+the+United+States+from+the+origin+of+the+court+to+1854&source=bl&ots=m2KRHd1W8x&sig=XDJDiQc8P8MtETsB3rtl6sN6B1I&hl=en&ei=nSGwS_XNOIvsMPe_iLUO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=falseDigest of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States from the origin of the court to 1854 Little Brown & Co., (1864).]
- Memoir and Writings (2 vols., Boston, 1880), the first volume including a memoir by George Ticknor CurtisGeorge Ticknor CurtisGeorge Ticknor Curtis was an American author, writer, historian and lawyer.Curtis was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard University in 1832 and then Harvard Law School. After admittance to the Massachusetts bar in 1836, he practiced first in Boston and then in New York...
, and the second "Miscellaneous Writings," edited by Benjamin R. Curtis, his son.
See also
- Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United StatesDemographics of the Supreme Court of the United StatesThe demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States encompass the gender, ethnic, religious, geographic, and economic backgrounds of the 112 justices appointed to the Supreme Court. Certain of these characteristics have been raised as an issue since the Court was established in 1789. For its...
- Dual federalismDual federalismDual federalism, a legal theory which has prevailed in the United States since 1787, is the belief that the United States consists of two separate and co-sovereign branches of government. This form of government works on the principle that the national and state governments are split into their own...
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of United States Chief Justices by time in office
- List of U.S. Supreme Court Justices by time in office
- Origins of the American Civil WarOrigins of the American Civil WarThe main explanation for the origins of the American Civil War is slavery, especially Southern anger at the attempts by Northern antislavery political forces to block the expansion of slavery into the western territories...
- United States Supreme Court cases during the Taney Court
Further reading
- Flanders, Henry. http://books.google.com/books?id=eEQEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Flanders,+Henry.+The+Lives+and+Times+of+the+Chief+Justices+of+the+United+States+Supreme+Court&source=bl&ots=TlVq46f3l1&sig=xFW-bezy_iOIcXW3X8l-bbzddk8&hl=en&ei=kh1TS5atOIzkNc3DuYkJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=falseThe Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the United States Supreme Court]. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1874 at Google Books.
- Huebner, Timothy S.; Renstrom, Peter; coeditor. (2003) The Taney Court, Justice Rulings and Legacy. City: ABC-Clio Inc.ISBN 1-57607-368-8.
- Leach, Richard H. Benjamin Robins Curtis, Judicial Misfit. The New England Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Dec., 1952), pp. 507-523 (article consists of 17 pages) Published by: The New England Quarterly, Inc.
- Leach, Richard H. Benjamin R. Curtis: Case Study of a Supreme Court Justice (Ph.D. diss., Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, 1951). - Simon, James F. (2006) Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession, and the President's War Powers (Paperback) New York: Simon & SchusterSimon & SchusterSimon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
, 336 pages. ISBN 0-7432-9846-2.
External links
- Benjamin Robbins Curtis at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Fox, John, The First Hundred Years, Biographies of the Robes, Benjamin Robinson Curtis. Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. - New Publications, Judge Benjamin R. Curtis, A Memoir of Benjamin Robbins Curtis, LL.D. With Some of his Professional and Miscellaneous Writings, Edited by his son, Benjamin R. Curtis, (October 19, 1879). New York Times.